Church leaders urged Latter-day Saints to find joy in life, to learn from the faith of their pioneer ancestors, to care for the poor and to keep their commitments during the second session of conference on Saturday afternoon.
Opening the session, Elder David B. Haight of the Quorum of the Twelve described his experience of being called as a general authority 26 years ago. Elder Haight, 89, also described his feelings about some of his experiences serving the Lord, being present in the Salt Lake Temple when a revelation was received concerning the priesthood being granted to all worthy males.In speaking of the revelation, received in 1978, Elder Haight said he and others experienced a "powerful outpouring of the Spirit."
He told of being taken aback a short time later when he read a subhead of a story in the Chicago Tribune about the revelation. He saw the newspaper during a stopover en route by plane to Detroit. The subhead stated that (then) President Kimball "claims" to have received a revelation. He indicated that the word "claims" jumped out at him because "I felt of that heavenly influence. I was part of it."
To the delight of the audience, Elder Haight also told of learning about 30 minutes before the conference session began of the birth of a new great-granddaughter.
After F. Michael Watson gave a statistical report on church growth, Elder Haight good naturedly reminded him that "there's one more (statistic) that he didn't read." He said, "Just in the last 30 minutes we have heard that we have a new great-granddaughter, born at University Hospital. So Michael, you'll have to raise that number one more."
Elder Haight also told of the recent blessing of a great-grandson, saying that he hopes the youngster and others in his posterity will some day "feel the spiritual power and influence of this work (the work of the church)."
He testified that, "God lives. He is our Father. We are his children. He loves us. Jesus is the Christ, the only begotten of the Father in the flesh. He is our Savior, our Redeemer."
He said the Savior is "our advocate with the Father. He is the one who died and suffered great agony, great humiliation, great pain for us."
And he declared that "all this work is true. I leave you my love, my witness and pray that you will live and raise your own families in such a way that you will all be part of this great army needed to carry the message of hope and salvation to all the world."
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ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Afternoon speakers
Elder David B. Haight of the Quorum of the Twelve
Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin of the Quorum of the Twelve
Elder Richard G. Scott of the Quorum of the Twelve
Elder Jeffrey R. Holland of the Quorum of the Twelve
Elder F. Burton Howard of the Seventy
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Elder Wirthlin: Giving faithful service today honors the faith of the pioneers who made the westward trek.
Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin urged members to "honor the faith of our fathers by giving their own faithful service" in the cause of the gospel.
A member of the Quorum of the Twelve, Elder Wirthlin centered his address on the faith of the pioneers. He stressed the importance of exercising faith in living the gospel today and following President Gordon B. Hinckley, whom church members sustain as a prophet.
He cited several examples of faithful pioneers, who left their homes in Nauvoo, Ill., during the mid-19th century for a massive migration west.
"We can attribute much of the remarkable progress of the church and of this state of Utah to their faith in the Lord, Jesus Christ. We stand in awe of their resolve and tenacity in holding fast to their convictions despite the obstacles they had to overcome," he said.
He told of the commemoration earlier this year of the 150th anniversary of the exodus from Nauvoo of the pioneer saints, who with "faith in prophetic leaders . . . struck off into the wilderness of the American frontier."
They did not know exactly where they were going, how many miles they would have to travel, how long the trek would take or what the future held for them.
"But they did know they were led by the Lord and his servants. Their faith sustained them," Elder Wirthlin declared.
He said he and his wife visited Nauvoo earlier this year and felt a deeper sense of appreciation and gratitude for the saints who left their beloved city behind.
Elder Wirthlin described how mothers gave birth to children during the trek under the most miserable of circumstance - in tents, in wagons and in all kinds of weather.
"What a sacrifice these good sisters made! Some mothers lost their own lives in childbirth. Many babies did not survive."
He said members of the church are also called to exercise faith today and to serve in different ways.
"No matter who we are - no matter our talents, abilities, financial resources, education, or experience - we all can serve in the kingdom," Elder Wirthlin said.
Elder Scott: Sadness, disappointment and severe challenges are events in life, not life itself.
Elder Richard G. Scott counseled members to find joy amid the challenges and sorrows of mortal life.
Elder Scott, of the Quorum of the Twelve, also admonished listeners to "be grateful for the ordinances and the covenants" the gospel provides.
In his address, Elder Scott testified that Heavenly Father and his Son, have power to crown individuals' lives with peace and joy and to give life purpose and meaning. He said people can learn that sadness and disappointment are temporary and that "happiness is everlastingly eternal because of Jesus Christ."
Elder Scott told of standing recently on the shore of a beautiful Pacific island and of the joy and beauty he experienced in observing the waves, some of which cascaded over rocks or burst on shore in individual patterns. Showing emotion, he said he watched the beauty of the scene and contemplated what would come later while also thinking of the "unending variety of possibilities" the Lord has provided for people in life.
He said tears of gratitude formed for this "wondrous world in which we live, for the extraordinary beauty our Heavenly Father so freely shares with all that are willing to see. Truly, life is beautiful."
Elder Scott said that individuals are the noblest of God's creations. He said God intends that mortality be "gloriously beautiful" overall, despite challenges that come.
"Sadness, disappointment, severe challenges are events in life, not life itself. I do not minimize how hard some of these events are. They can extend over a long period of time, but they should not be allowed to become the confining center of everything you do," he said.
Elder Scott said problems or trials in life should be viewed in the light of scriptural doctrine. Men and women are on Earth for a "divine purpose," he said. That includes being tried and proven so they may be entitled to additional blessings.
He encouraged efforts to "find compensatory blessings" when one is deprived of something they want very much. Also, Elder Scott admonished individuals to ponder the scriptures to understand the plan of happiness, to pray with faith, to love and serve others and be grateful for what they have.
Elder Holland: Be Christ-like; look for ways to reach out and help the sorrowing and others in need.
Encouraging members to be more Christ-like, Elder Jeffrey R. Holland asked listeners to be especially attentive to the "often silent cries of the sorrowing and the afflicted, the downtrodden, the disadvantaged and the poor." A member of the Quorum of the Twelve, Elder Holland spoke of the needs of the widow, the fatherless, the disadvantaged, the hungry, the homeless and others in need.
He spoke of the Prophet Elijah's circumstances during a drought and famine in Israel, recounting how a widow was prepared by the Lord to meet Elijah's needs. The widow unselfishly provided bread first to Elijah before taking care of the needs of herself and her son.
Elder Holland said the widow and another like her in the New Testament offered all they had to serve God. He quoted heavily from scriptures illustrating the importance of giving.
"O then, how ye ought to impart of your substance that ye have one to another . . . succor those that stand in need of your succor . . . administer of your substance unto him that standeth in need . . . Are we not all beggars? Do we not all depend upon the same being, even God, for all the substance which we have?" Elder Holland said, quoting King Benjamin's words from the Book of Mormon.
He paid tribute to "all of you who do so much and care so deeply and labor with `the intent to do good.' So many are so generous. I know that many of you are struggling to make ends meet in your own lives and still you share something with others. As King Benjamin cautioned his people, it is not intended that we run faster than we have strength and all things should be done in order.' I love you and your Heavenly Father loves you for all you are trying to do."
Elder Holland encouraged each person to "do something, however small that act may seem to be." He said, "We can pay an honest tithe and give our fast and free will offerings, according to our circumstances. And we can watch for other ways to help. To worthy causes and needy people, we can give time if we don't have money, and we can give love when our time runs out," Elder Holland said.
"God bless us to hear the whisperings of the Holy Spirit when any neighbor anywhere `is suffering,' and to `drop everything and come running.' "
Elder Howard: Excuses are many, but nothing is more important than keeping our commitments to the Lord.
Commitment to keeping covenants and performing church assignments is the hallmark of Christ-like behavior, said Elder F. Burton Howard of the Seventy.
Church members, Elder Howard said, "commit to do many things. We agree to serve one another, to mourn with those that mourn, to comfort those that stand in need of comfort. We promise to visit each other. We make covenants. We agree to share the gospel and to do vicarious work for the dead. (But) . . . we sometimes fail to do what we have agreed to do."
When people fail to keep commitments, he said, their "justifications are many. We say we will do it later. We have something more important to do right now. We don't feel well or we don't feel qualified or we don't want to be fanatical about it."
When people say they have something more important to do, Elder Howard said he wonders "what it could possibly be. What could be more important than keeping a commitment we have made with the Lord?"
Elder Howard said he has often asked stake presidents what their concerns are and what they see as the greatest need in their stake.
Frequently, they reply that their stake has wonderful people but that " `some of them just need to be more committed and more dedicated. They need to be more anxiously engaged in the work.' "
Elder Howard said one need in the church is for "more people who will do just what they have agreed to do." Making promises, he said, involves being constant, steadfast, keeping the faith and being faithful to the end despite success or failure, doubt or discouragement.